H&R is Back and Making Legit Retro ARs

We stopped by PSA's booth at SHOT Show in Las Vegas last week and got the details on the new H&R line of throwback black, err, gray rifles they have inbound.

The old H&R

Just to get it out of the way, the Harrington & Richardson Arms name is a familiar one in the gun industry, dating to a venture by Franklin Wesson and G.H. Harrington (Wesson & Harrington) in 1871, later joined by William A. Richardson after Wesson left the company. Over time, H&R made everything from handcuffs to shotguns, even producing Reising sub guns in WWII, a small batch of M1 Garands for the Army in the 1950s, T-48 FALs, M14s, and thousands of early M16A1 rifles in 5.56mm in the 1960s and 70s.

In all, H&R made 240,000 M16s rifles for Uncle Sam at a cost of $170.43 each between Dec. 1968 and March 1971, some of which are likely still in service overseas with American allies, have been rebuilt into M4s, or are in arsenal storage at the "Army's attic" at Anniston Army Depot.

A lot of the early M16s that served in Vietnam and through the Cold War were made by H&R in Massachusetts. (Photo: H&R)

Shutting its doors in 1986 after making guns for some 115 years, the iconic brand was rebooted in 1991 as H&R 1871, a new company using the old trademarks to market a variety of utilitarian revolvers and shotguns. Purchased by Marlin in 2000 and then acquired by the omnivorous monster that was Remington Outdoors in 2007, the brand was picked up in 2020 by the holding company that owns Palmetto State Armory as part of "Big Green's" Chapter 11 federal bankruptcy sale along with the trademarks for Stormlake, Parker shotguns, and AAC.

Now, with NoDakSpud founder Mike Wettleland listed as CEO of H&R, the company is back and ready to make some very sweet guns that just ooze old-school cool.

The new H&R

Complete with a new HR1871 website, Wettleland has three planned AR-15 models headed to the consumer market. Besides a standard-length 20-inch model, there is also an H&R 723 carbine inspired by the 1980s/90s vintage D-boy pipe wrench and an H&R 635 9mm modeled on the Colt SMG of the same era.

The H&R M16A1 retro rifle is hand-crafted from proprietary forging dies with 1960s vintage government markings. As the guns made for the Army back in the Fortunate Son era were in the 2-million range, the new H&R will mimic that although will be distinctive in the fact that they have West Columbia, South Carolina rollmarks rather than the Worchester, Massachusetts marks of the original. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

Wettleland on the range at Industry Day in Boulder City giving the H&R M16A1 a workout. They will be offered with both the more practical 1:7 and more historically correct 1:12 twist-rate barrels. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

The H&R M16A1 — Wettleland also told us that 20-round waffle mags are on the menu "soon" along with stripped barrels, uppers and parts for homebuilders. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

The H&R 723 and H&R 635. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

Wettleland told Guns.com H&R has been shipping some 723s and expects to start delivering the M16A1s in late March in the $1,200-$1,500 range.

Hopefully, pricing and availability can keep up with demand. If nothing else, it is nice to see the old H&R name and logo rise from the ashes once again.

Video by Ben Philippi/Guns.com

The old H&R

The new H&R

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